The present invention relates generally to drapes of the type used in caring for a medical patient, such as during surgical procedures. More specifically, the invention relates to a drape used by an anesthesia provider during surgical procedures to temporarily hold accessories, such as a suction instrument, and to limit contamination.
2. Description of Prior Art
The practice of anesthesia today is a highly technical science involving myriad instrumentation. As a result, numerous items congest the work environment of the anesthesia provider. During any given surgical procedure, the anesthesia provider is surrounded by multiple electrical monitoring devices as well as machines which mix anesthetic gases, ventilate a patient""s lungs, evacuate fluids, administer and warm fluids, and warm the patient""s body. Because of the lack of a standardized receptacle or holder, items such as mediations, syringes, needles, and various tubings are not always within easy reach.
It is important to limit patient contamination of the work environment, personnel and subsequent patients. Suctioning saliva, blood, nasal secretions and gastric secretions potentiates contamination by these fluids and by infectious agents they may contain, such as hepatitis or the AIDS virus.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,720,881, issued Jan. 26, 1988, to Meyers, shows an anesthesia accessory unit which is a rigid tray assembly adapted to be supported on an end portion of a patient""s bed structure, normally a hospital operating room table. While this device offers a number of convenient receptacles, it is non-disposable and relatively expensive to manufacture. Also, the receptacle areas are not provided in the form of clean or sterile pockets which could be closed about the contaminated portion of a surgical instrument to prevent contamination of surrounding work areas, personnel, or subsequent patients.
A disposable drape, particularly adapted for receiving anesthesia accessories, could be inexpensively produced. Intended for only a single use, it would not need to be laundered or re-sterilized. Use of disposable drapes has increased in recent years. However, Applicant is unaware of any drapes that have been tailored specifically to hold anesthesia instruments during surgical procedures to limit contamination.
The present invention provides an accessory holder for a medical care provider, such as an anesthesia provider, in the form of a disposable drape adapted to be received on an end of a patient support structure, such as a hospital operating room table. Additionally, the invention provides such a drape having accessory receiving pockets which define clean or sterile enclosures for temporarily holding a variety of accessories and instruments during surgical procedures.
Another feature of the invention is a disposable drape having pockets for receiving a suction instrument during anesthetic procedures. The pockets provide a sterile environment for the instrument and thus limit or avoid, contamination of the surrounding work area, personnel, or subsequent patients.
The invention could decrease or eliminate the need for an assistant to the anesthesia provider. Potentially the drape could improve the dexterity of the anesthesia provider by providing a convenient clean or sterile receptable for anesthesia accessories, thus freeing a hand during surgical procedures.
Finally, the invention provides an accessory drape installable upon a variety of hospital operating room tables, stretchers and patient supports of various manufacturers"" designs, so that the accessory drape can be standardized from one operating room to another.
The invention is intended for use by a medical care provider, such as an anesthesia provider, during surgical procedures. Adapted for reception on a patient support structure, the drape includes a main sheet of flexible, drapable material. The main sheet has a first region adapted to receive a part of the patient, usually the head, when the patient is received on the support structure. This anchors the drape. The first region includes a pocket fold which defines a first accessory receiving pocket. An envelope region is formed beneath the first region of the drapable material and defines a second accessory receiving. The envelope region is adapted to receive a part of the support structure to further anchor the drape.
The first accessory receiving pocket has a top layer and a bottom layer, each of which has a front edge, a rear edge and opposing side edges. The front edge of the top layer may be recessed to facilitate insertion of accessories within the pocket during surgical procedures. Preferably, the drape includes at least one additional accessory receiving pocket formed by a pocket fold in the main sheet. The additional pocket is arranged to depend downwardly from the first or head region of the drape, generally perpendicular to the plane thereof when the drape is received on the support structure.
The drape is particularly suited to temporarily hold a suction instrument during surgical procedures. In such an embodiment, the drape is received on a hospital operating room table. Additionally, the drape could provide multiple pockets. Although the pockets could be oriented with an opening at any convenient location, a preferred embodiment orients the opening upward.
By including an aperture in the drape, other useful configurations are possible. For example, the patient""s head could be received through an aperture and a panel of the drape could then be elevated to form an ether screen. Additional features and advantages will be apparent in the written description which follows.